If you’ve recently visited the dentist under the new Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), you might be wondering how much your visit actually cost, how much was covered by the government, and what kinds of dental services were included in your coverage.
Since the program rolled out nationwide earlier this year, thousands of Canadians have booked their first CDCP-covered appointments. But as the program continues to expand, many patients are still unsure how to find out what was billed, what was paid, and what remains their responsibility.
Here’s a step-by-step look at how to check your CDCP claim after your dental visit — and make sense of what’s on the bill.
Step 1: Wait for Your Claim to Be Processed
After your appointment, your dental office submits the claim directly to Sun Life Financial, which administers the CDCP on behalf of the government.
Processing typically takes a few business days, though in some cases it can take longer — sometimes up to 10 days. Once the claim is finalized, the details are available for you to review online through your government account.
Step 2: Log In to Your My Canada Service Account (MCSA)
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/my-account/cdcp.html
To view your dental claim, Canadians can use the federal government’s digital platform, known as the My Canada Service Account (MCSA).
If you don’t have a MCSA account, you would need to create one.
There are two different ways of creating a MCSA account. The two options are:
1. GCKey Account
2. Interac/Bank account
To create an either one of the MCSA account, you would need one of the three following information:
- Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- Birth Registration Number
- Unique Client Identifier (UCI)
and your bank account information to verify your identity.
After creating your account, you can go back to step 1 to look at your claim detail.
Step 3: Review Your Claim Summary
Once your claim is posted, you’ll be able to see a detailed breakdown, including the date of service, dental provider, procedure code, amount billed by your dentist, amount covered by CDCP, and the amount you owe (if any).
This breakdown shows exactly how much of your visit was paid by the government and how much, if any, you need to cover out-of-pocket.
A Step Toward Transparency in Dental Care
The CDCP is part of the federal government’s effort to make dental care more accessible and affordable for Canadians who don’t have private insurance. By using the My Canada Service Account, patients can now see — often for the first time — a clear breakdown of what their dental care costs and how much support they’re receiving through the plan.
For many, it’s a small but important step toward greater transparency in how public dental coverage works.
For more information on CDCP, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan.html
Easycan Inc. — Journalist & Editor: Shengji Lin